Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar with a hand-held electric mixer or whisk until soft peaks form; refrigerate.

Place egg yolks, sugar, flour, half-and-half, vanilla and salt in a stainless steel bowl or the top of a double boiler over boiling water and beat constantly with a hand-held mixer or wire whisk 5 to 7 minutes until thickened. Custard will be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Remove from boiler and let cool a few minutes.

Line a 2 1/2-quart nonreactive casserole with half the vanilla wafers. Pour half the pudding mixture over wafers. Arrange half the sliced bananas in a layer and top with remaining vanilla wafers. Pour remaining pudding mixture over top. Scatter remaining banana slices over pudding and spoon beaten egg whites over surface to cover. Bake pudding in center of oven 12 minutes until golden brown. Cool before serving.